Embed from Getty ImagesAn open race with Remco Evenepoel as the lone representative of the Unbeatables, can he take on the field and win? The Amstel marks an interlude between Sunday Monuments but makes for a fun race because it is so tricky and technical, as Tadej Pogaar discovered to his peril last year.The Course: a 257km labyrinth contained in a 20km x 30km section of the Netherlands that resembles an appendix dangling between Belgium and Germany. Theres 3,300m of vertical gain and none of the climbs alone are hard but 33 of them add up and in the final third positioning counts for so much as the course is full of tight turns and knowing where to move up counts for plenty. Go into a climb beyond 20th place and its easy to miss a split or be forced into a costly acceleration to make it across. Go in third wheel and a rider can afford to drift back a few places if it suits and this way save a lot of energy.The Finish: up the Cauberg and then 1.5km over the finish line to make a for a tactical moment where its a long way to hold out if a climber wants to jump on the Cauberg, where dropped sprinters can be towed back into contention and more.Embed from Getty ImagesThe Contenders: Remco Evenepoel (RedBull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is the star name in the absence of fellow unbeatables Tadej Pogaar, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Given the way one of these names wins the spring classics to the exclusion of the rest of the field then this ought to be his turn. But jostling for position and subtle tactics are not his strong points although he can handle both, indeed last years race is a good example where he bided his time before setting off in pursuit of Pogaar. He can sprint well too these days but last years race is a bad example where he lost to Pogaar and Skjelmose.Embed from Getty ImagesMattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) leads a team thats struggling this season, currently sandwiched between Uno-X and Cofidis on the UCI rankings. If much of this has been to injury for Pedersen and Ayuso, the team were not the collective force on the cobbled classics and they now bring a new cast to the Ardennes classics. Skjelmose is a good rider but the Amstel twice in a row is a big ask. Albert Withen Philipsen and Quinn Simmons are outside picks, the Dane was strong in the breakaway during the Ronde van Limburg earlier in the week.Embed from Getty ImagesVisma-LAB have been one of worlds best teams and this is their home race but theyve regularly struggled here, only winning once in their post-Rabobank days thanks to Wout van Aerts photogenic appearance in 2021. Matteo Jorgenson is out to remedy this and should thrive on these roads but we can find quotes from him saying he cant sprint so its probably solo or bust. Ben Tullet and Axel Zingle bring more options, the latter packs a good sprint but would prefer the finish on the Cauberg itself.Embed from Getty ImagesIts a pity the Brabantse Pijl has been moved to a Friday slot as plenty of riders skipped it but Benot Cosnefroy (UAE) made the breakaway that got caught at the flamme rouge and still sprinted third place in the finish. Dropped by Decathlon, due to go to Picnic-PostNL only for the deal to fall through late, he was hired by UAE as a bargain so is not a strategic pick but is still their best rider here as one of several riders who make the Ardennes a big goal when its only four races in under 10 days from the Pijl to Lige.Romain Grgoire (Groupama-FDJ) is almost a copy-paste of the paragraph above, in the break in the Pijl but salvaging fourth place and another rider who aims for the tiny window of the Ardennes.Staying with French riders brings us to Ineos with three Gallic options: Dorian Godon to hold on for a sprint, Axel Laurance to provoke a move or two and win from a reduced sprint and Kvin Vauquelin to make a race-winning attack.Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-PremierTech) might be the best hope for a home win but a World Tour win against this dense a field is a lot to ask for.Bahrain have a cohesive team but Pello Bilbaos win rate is low, ditto Matej Mohori. Edoardo Zambanini is promising.Finally some more names with Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-QS) able to race for himself. Alex Baudin (EF) in form and Mauro Schmid (Jayco) is having a great season. Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) looks rejuvenated, Clment Champoussin (XDS-Astana) is riding high in results but how to win while Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-CMA CGM) can be a sniper on a good day and is capable of winning World Tour races.Remco EvenepoelSimmons, Skjelmose, Jorgenson, Vauquelin, Van WilderSchmid, Grgoire, Cosnefroy, Lapeira, Del GrossoLaurance, Godon, AranburuWeather: a cool 14C with some sunshine and a light 10km/h breeze from the NW, and an outside chance of rain.TV: the race starts at 11.10 and the finish is due around at 17.10 CEST. Host broadcaster NOS goes on air at 1.10pm with the womens race due in at 2.00pm but there should be a livestream on their website earlier.Womens Amstel Gold Race preview: local hopes of a home winner look more likely. This blogs picks are Puck Pieterse (Fenix-PremierTech), Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) and Micha Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), the latter being last years winner and in form. But ProCyclingUK.com has a more detailed preview and different picks.The post Amstel Gold Race Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.